Oops, bought a clanger ZX

[cas22]

The rear wing mount was missing bits so I was half way through fitting a rere set off a Mid, but then I remembered I grabbed some JJ ultima sets from Kyosho so doing that instead.
Also really like the Tamiya Egress / Avante wing mounts, which are copied and sold by Xtra speed.
I used these on my B2, and may be better to use these as the wire goes vertical rather than out the end.
See how it works our as I fit the shell

[cas22]

My usual conflict over using 30yr old period correct(ish) gear and reliability.
Need to use some of my old gear so compromised with a decent low profile high speed new servo,
Removed the ugly bright blue anodizing, sanded back and painted matt black.
Also replaced the wiring, as it was not futaba colors, tested an old T4 and 27Mhz AM reciever, works on the bench on 27.995, see how it goes with range.
I have a futaba 2PD AM I have had over 30 yrs, so far, so good.

[cas22]

Other than that, I'm getting close to fitting the shell.
Put bearings through the steering too, and bored with Kyosho golds, and this one came with one(?) Long gold shock.
Got a heap of these closeout shocks and they are really good quality, better than even associated B4 stuff. And at the time cost less than a spring set.
On these went, with 35 weight all round.
Still needs more wiring tidy up and a stock motor fitted
But getting close.
I find the stock shell a bit of an ugly duckling tbh, fat and squat. And not in a good way.Parma did the "Fat cat"shell for the procat which did this successfully. Not Kyosho in this instance.
I have two, but struggling with keeping it stock(ish) or dumping if for a zx-r or optima mid TOMS shell.
Also TBG do their own shell which I grabbed a year ago for an optima look nice too....but may be too short?

Really happy to pull this one back, thought it was heading to be stripped for bits till I found that top plate, and then the tiny bearings for the steering plate, ...and away we go...
Still didn't purchase anything extra other than the belts and shell/ gear cover. And chipping away at my stash.
Just hope the Radio holds together.
https://teambluegroove.com/collections/kyosho/products/tbg-stealth-body-for-vintage-rc10-rc-10-optima-ultima

[treystoys]

Came out really nice. It’ll look good with any body, but I do agree, the original one wasn’t great, to much airplane and not enough buggy there.

[cas22]

Yep, I don't like how there's so much space surrounding the chassis? Especially at the front, the ZX-R is much nicer. But ive decided to keep it original.
They just always looked heavy and cumbersome on the track compared to the Schumachers back in the day, Not that they were much slower, just appeared that way.
And that double rear wing lasted a lap before the lower foil got ripped away.

[cas22]

I do have what I think is a ZX-R, but im not an expert could be a distant but it does have the solid nylon Layshaft, and Ball diffs front and rear. And the Narrower chassis.
The suspension arms look to be ZX though, and the ,Fibrelyte towers and steering linkage (not bent at the ends alloy?)

[HS-YZ250]

I do have what I think is a ZX-R, but im not an expert could be a distant but it does have the solid nylon Layshaft, and Ball diffs front and rear. And the Narrower chassis.
The suspension arms look to be ZX though, and the ,Fibrelyte towers and steering linkage (not bent at the ends alloy?)

Shock towers are ZX, as well as the split upper deck.

A couple of side by side pics of my lazers for reference, though with the wheels on and electronics in, you probably can't see a lot of differences. But i have a thread titled "All The Lazers" with closeup pictures of them. I spent way too much time and money buying Kyosho Hardware for the re-release optima to convert the JIS screws to hex driver. Worth it, though there are still a few JIS on them.

Left to Right: Lazer ZX, ZXR, ZXRR

[cas22]

Ahh, I see now,
Thanks HZ-YZ250,
Found this site today, run by this friendly guy named Klaas De Waele

https://kyosho-lazer.straydesign.com/

Hés got a lot of info too, I'm still intrigued how you found a Lazer in Pakistan!! thats quite an achievement. Impressive.

[cas22]

This is what i meant by the under tray, just terrible design, compared with the Mid TOMS and Optima pro.

[HS-YZ250]

If you're interested in hardware updating:

You can find modern hex drive 3mm thread forming screws for plastic at kyosho by searching "TPH" - https://kyoshoamerica.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=tph

Axial has a large number of thread forming screws as well. Their button head screws have smaller heads than kyosho's and fit in tighter spaces. - https://www.axialadventure.com/search?q=self+tapping&search-button=&lang=default

[cas22]

Thanks again.
So depending on what country it was distributed in , the ZX-R had:
New body and Triumph style wing
Medium length Front shocks and FRP towers
Adjustable turnbuckles
LA-26 non-webbed version suspension arms
2.2" Wheels ( H pattern tyres)
One piece top deck
No belt covers
Factory assembled ball diffs
Slipper torque clutch
Glass FRP saddle pack straps?

And the ZX-RR or ZXR Mk2
Also added:
Hyperclutch,
Active steering sensor
6 cell slot chassis
Grey Teflon shocks?
Different side motor plate
LA-26 webbed non-webbed version. Rear hub plates (only used on the ZX-R mk2 and ZX-RR as shock mounts)
Didn't use the dog leg upper control rod ends on the front

What else am I missing?
Cheers

[HS-YZ250]

Do you know how long these screws are and if they contact the center differential? I tried to replace these with a standard screw and couldn't find one that exactly the right size since they increase by 5mm increments past a certain point.

Also, looking at this closeup, I gather the previous owner replaced everything with metal screws, so I don't know how much good going back to thread forming in the appropriate places would be.

[cas22]

Those screws were odd lengths, I will measure tomorrow, I'm on night shifts at the moment.
As I pulled this car apart I realized the aluminum (left side plate) part had been hacked up by a previous owner somewhere in its distant past, so I cut one from 1.5mm G10, this was slightly thinner than the alloy, but by adding the washer cup should have been stock length. Manual says M3 X 45?
I assembled it without the Spur gear and allowed the threads to pass through the motor plate, once I nipped them gently I used the heel of my vernier to measure and cut them down with a Dremel.
Ran a scrap m3 nut up the thread prior to cutting it, then wound this down to the raw cut, polished it up a bit with the grinding bit, and once it cooled off, removed the nut. This restores the thread and removes and sharp burrs, although the nut is a throw away afterwards.
Done.
I bought a ton of m3 and m2.5 stainless cap screws from AliExpress up to 50mm, work back from there.
As this one was quite beat up, I simply used a M3 Starter and bottom Tap and pre tapped all the screw holes,
Done this on a few cars and never had any issues, there is some material left at the top of the TP thread which you can clear with a 2.5mm drill if required, but I've found if I go carefully, they tap really well.
Not had any come loose on kyosho or tamiya kits. With a 35-year-old car there are often stripped threads to consider, have filled with epoxy glue and retapped once hardened to get around this.
Also I find most of the screw heads are stripped or scratched from using the wrong size Philips driver, and can't stand the rust, so replacing is easier, and one Alen driver.
I have had issues with the same trick on associated and Losi with 4-40 imperial, not with the Japanese plastics.

[terry.sc]

And the ZX-RR or ZXR Mk2
Also added:
Hyperclutch,
Active steering sensor
6 cell slot chassis
Grey Teflon shocks?
Different side motor plate
LA-26 webbed non-webbed version. Rear hub plates (only used on the ZX-R mk2 and ZX-RR as shock mounts)
Didn't use the dog leg upper control rod ends on the front

The ZX-RR was the official update to the ZX-R. As this was a big leap in price over the ZX-R some distributors had the cut price version the ZX-R Mk2 instead.
The ZX-R Mk2 came with the new 6 cell chassis, top deck, motor plate and bridge that moved the battery back, and the suspension updates, but kept the gold shocks and ZX-R slipper. Only the ZX-RR had the hyperclutch and grey Ultimate shocks.

Both used a standard ball end on the front upper link because the upper link was attached with a screw through the kingpin instead of the outer hole, this went with the updated front C hubs that had an extra hole in them so they mounted further out which widened the front end and added more caster to the hubs.